[1]Ooty: Cloudy weather making it impossible for her use the chopper to fly to the hills, chief minister J.Jayalalithaa arrived by road in Kodanad on Friday to a rousing reception from AIADMK workers and others who had lined up on the slopes to receive her.
Music and dances by the Badaga and other tribals who performed Kerala’s Chendamelam and Kota as well, greeted her as she reached Kodanad at 2.10 pm. A large number of Badagas had turned out in their traditional attire along with their dance troupes to welcome her as she has given them what they were hoping for, for years when she appointed a member of the community to the Rajya Sabha recently.
Chieftain of the Kundah Seemai Badaga community, Annamalai R. Murugesan, reflected the popular mood when he said his people had come to greet the CM to express their gratitude for making Mr K.R.Arjunan, a Badaga and the district secretary of the AIADMK in the Nilgiris, a Rajya Sabha MP.
“It is nearly after five decades that a resident of the Nilgiris and a Badaga has been elected to the Rajya Sabha. It is a proud moment for the Badagas, who constitute for the single largest ethnic community in the Nilgiris,” he added.
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[1] http://archive.asianage.com/jaya5010jpg-462